BD20
Author's notes: Thanks to those who review. I love to hear from you. BTW,
the unedited version of chapter 16 is up at
http://pub92.ezboard.com/fwitchbladeconnectionsfrm1 if anyone wants to see
it.
I was not fast enough to stop Weis from opening the door. I froze halfway down the hall, waiting for the explosion. I think I was holding my breath. My mind was churning; I was trying to think of a way to make the candlelight and naked male seem innocent. Unfortunately, the 'gift of the gab' was not something that could be stretched to cover this sort of situation, and I could not think of anything to say.
"So, this is the friend who hurled all over you and the car. I'd say drag his ass out there and make him help clean it up." Weis said disgustedly.
Wondering why Weis hadn't reacted the way I thought he would, I finally managed to get my feet moving. I walked the last few feet to the bedroom door and looked around him. To my surprise, Ian lay face down and fully clothed on the bed. The candles had been blown out, and the faint flapping of a curtain in the wind told me why there wasn't any telltale smell of their recent burning.
"I seriously doubt he's slept it off so quickly, but I can at least get him to the couch." I said as I moved past Weis and into the room. I didn't want Weis getting to close to Nottingham, because as soon as he did, he'd know who it was. We had studied their files extensively, so there was no chance he wouldn't recognize Ian.
I moved into the room and leaned over Ian, taking care that my body was blocking their view. I knew he was awake; he had to be. No one could have had the presence of mind to get dressed and do their best to get rid of the evidence, only to fall asleep moments later. I touched his shoulder gently and murmured, "When I get you up, keep your face turned into my shoulder so Weis can't identify you."
His shoulder tensed under my hand, and then he gave the briefest of nods in acknowledgement. I hoped it looked like he was snuggling deeper into the pillow, if Weis could see anything at all. I shook him and said, "Come on, wake up. Rise and shine. Ok, I'll settle for rise."
Ian raised his head slightly and opened one eye. I could see the mirth in it, and knew he was thinking about something else that had been up earlier. I tried to give him a quelling look, but it was difficult, since I was now thinking the same thing. I nearly blew the whole thing by laughing when he croaked, "Already?"
"Yes, already. We're being evacuated. You can be miserable on the couch just as well as here anyway." I said as I grabbed one arm and 'helped' Ian get to his feet.
"Ohhhh," Ian groaned, a bit theatrically in my opinion, and got up. As he rose, he cradled his face with the hand I wasn't using for leverage. It was quite inspired really, and kept his face hidden without being in the least bit suspicious.
I helped him toward the door, still keeping myself between Ian and Weis. We shuffled out the door, Ian staggering and lurching like a derelict. If he ever got out of the military, he had a great acting career ahead of him. He almost managed to bring us down twice before we got to the living room. Once we got to the couch, I let him drop with a sigh of relief.
When I went back down the hall to go strip the bed, I discovered they'd already closed the bedroom door. I could hear, very faintly, the sounds of passion through the wood. I fought back a laugh; sure it would be filled with hysteria. We'd gotten away with it! Well, almost.
The car still needed to be cleaned up, our clothes had to be gotten out of the dryer, and we had to get him back to barracks. I tried to think positive as I headed back to the couch. If Ian helped me get the car cleaned out, we could be on our way quicker. I knew it wouldn't take long for his clothes to dry, considering there wasn't anything else in the dryer. We could probably be out of here inside twenty minutes.
Ian was sitting up, watching me return. He looked at me questioningly, "Didn't they want the sheets changed?"
"Somehow I don't think they'll notice right now. Hopefully they will think they did it, if they discover it later. Let's get the car cleaned up so we can get out of here." I led the way to the kitchen. I bent over, getting a trash bag for all the paper towels I was about to use, when Ian grabbed my waist.
"If they're really going to be so preoccupied, don't you owe me a shower check?" Ian purred at my back, pressing against my hips.
I closed my eyes and shuddered. He had a voice like velvet when he wanted, and it overloaded my senses almost as much as the feel of him molded to me. "Accushla, I would rather we continued this another time and place. Someplace without such a potential for being caught, someplace where we can take our time."
I was not fast enough to stop Weis from opening the door. I froze halfway down the hall, waiting for the explosion. I think I was holding my breath. My mind was churning; I was trying to think of a way to make the candlelight and naked male seem innocent. Unfortunately, the 'gift of the gab' was not something that could be stretched to cover this sort of situation, and I could not think of anything to say.
"So, this is the friend who hurled all over you and the car. I'd say drag his ass out there and make him help clean it up." Weis said disgustedly.
Wondering why Weis hadn't reacted the way I thought he would, I finally managed to get my feet moving. I walked the last few feet to the bedroom door and looked around him. To my surprise, Ian lay face down and fully clothed on the bed. The candles had been blown out, and the faint flapping of a curtain in the wind told me why there wasn't any telltale smell of their recent burning.
"I seriously doubt he's slept it off so quickly, but I can at least get him to the couch." I said as I moved past Weis and into the room. I didn't want Weis getting to close to Nottingham, because as soon as he did, he'd know who it was. We had studied their files extensively, so there was no chance he wouldn't recognize Ian.
I moved into the room and leaned over Ian, taking care that my body was blocking their view. I knew he was awake; he had to be. No one could have had the presence of mind to get dressed and do their best to get rid of the evidence, only to fall asleep moments later. I touched his shoulder gently and murmured, "When I get you up, keep your face turned into my shoulder so Weis can't identify you."
His shoulder tensed under my hand, and then he gave the briefest of nods in acknowledgement. I hoped it looked like he was snuggling deeper into the pillow, if Weis could see anything at all. I shook him and said, "Come on, wake up. Rise and shine. Ok, I'll settle for rise."
Ian raised his head slightly and opened one eye. I could see the mirth in it, and knew he was thinking about something else that had been up earlier. I tried to give him a quelling look, but it was difficult, since I was now thinking the same thing. I nearly blew the whole thing by laughing when he croaked, "Already?"
"Yes, already. We're being evacuated. You can be miserable on the couch just as well as here anyway." I said as I grabbed one arm and 'helped' Ian get to his feet.
"Ohhhh," Ian groaned, a bit theatrically in my opinion, and got up. As he rose, he cradled his face with the hand I wasn't using for leverage. It was quite inspired really, and kept his face hidden without being in the least bit suspicious.
I helped him toward the door, still keeping myself between Ian and Weis. We shuffled out the door, Ian staggering and lurching like a derelict. If he ever got out of the military, he had a great acting career ahead of him. He almost managed to bring us down twice before we got to the living room. Once we got to the couch, I let him drop with a sigh of relief.
When I went back down the hall to go strip the bed, I discovered they'd already closed the bedroom door. I could hear, very faintly, the sounds of passion through the wood. I fought back a laugh; sure it would be filled with hysteria. We'd gotten away with it! Well, almost.
The car still needed to be cleaned up, our clothes had to be gotten out of the dryer, and we had to get him back to barracks. I tried to think positive as I headed back to the couch. If Ian helped me get the car cleaned out, we could be on our way quicker. I knew it wouldn't take long for his clothes to dry, considering there wasn't anything else in the dryer. We could probably be out of here inside twenty minutes.
Ian was sitting up, watching me return. He looked at me questioningly, "Didn't they want the sheets changed?"
"Somehow I don't think they'll notice right now. Hopefully they will think they did it, if they discover it later. Let's get the car cleaned up so we can get out of here." I led the way to the kitchen. I bent over, getting a trash bag for all the paper towels I was about to use, when Ian grabbed my waist.
"If they're really going to be so preoccupied, don't you owe me a shower check?" Ian purred at my back, pressing against my hips.
I closed my eyes and shuddered. He had a voice like velvet when he wanted, and it overloaded my senses almost as much as the feel of him molded to me. "Accushla, I would rather we continued this another time and place. Someplace without such a potential for being caught, someplace where we can take our time."